hit parade – a version of "Michael" was among the songs that civil rights activists arrested for protesting the killing sang to keep their spirits up, led by Hollis Watkins, according to a note smuggled out of the county jail by COFO and SNCC leader Bob Moses: : Michael row the boat ashore, Alleluia Christian brothers don't be slow, Alleluia Mississippi's next to go, Alleluia. Harry Belafonte sang a rather different rendition on his 1962 album Midnight Special which combines elements drawn from Christianity, American slavery, and Civil Rights Movement. The lyrics work their way through different parts of the Biblical narrative before concluding with the following verses: They nailed Jesus to the Cross, Hallelujah But his faith was never lost, Hallelujah So Christian soldiers off to war, Hallelujah Hold that line in Arkansas, Hallelujah Michael row the boat ashore, Hallelujah! Michael row the boat ashore, Hallelujah! Like Joshua at Jericho, Hallelujah Alabama's next to go, Hallelujah So Mississippi kneel and pray, Hallelujah Some more buses on the way, Hallelujah Michael row the boat ashore, Hallelujah! Michael row the boat ashore, Hallelujah! Recordings The version of "Michael, Row the Boat Ashore" that became a folk standard was adapted in 1954 by Boston folksinger, songfinder and teacher Tony Saletan from the 1867 songbook Slave Songs of the United States. As Saletan later explained, "I judged that the tune was very singable, added some harmony (a guitar accompaniment) and thought the one-word chorus would be an easy hit with [younger singers]. But a typical original verse consisted of one line repeated once, and I thought a rhyme would be more interesting to the teenagers at Shaker Village Work Camp, where I introduced it. So I adapted traditional African-American couplets in place of the original verses." Saletan taught it to Pete Seeger later that year. Saletan, however, never recorded it. Seeger taught it to the rest of the Weavers, who performed it at their Christmas Eve 1955 post-blacklist reunion concert. A recording of that performance was released in 1957 on an album titled The Weavers on Tour. In the same year, folksinger Bob Gibson included it on his Carnegie Concert album. Saletan shared a 1958 copyright in his adaptation with the members of the Weavers. The Weavers included an arrangement in The Weavers' Song Book, published in 1960. Similarly, Seeger included it in his 1961 songbook, American Favorite Ballads, with an attribution to